History of golf
Encyclopedia
The origins of golf
are unclear and much debated. However it is clearly one of a family of similar and possibly related club and ball games that were recorded across medieval Europe, and many of the unique elements of golf evolved in the port towns around the Firth of Forth
in eastern Scotland
from the medieval period onwards. Golf spread from Scotland into the rest of the United Kingdom
and then to the British Empire
and the United States of America during the late 19th century.
A golf-like game is recorded as taking place on 26 February 1297, in the Netherlands, in a city called Loenen aan de Vecht
, where the Dutch played a game with a stick and leather ball. The winner was whoever hit the ball with the least number of strokes into a target several hundred yards away. Some scholars argue that this game of putting a small ball in a hole in the ground using golf clubs was also played in 17th-century Netherlands
and that this predates the game in Scotland. There are also other reports of earlier accounts of a golf-like game from continental Europe.
In April 2005, new evidence re-invigorated the debate concerning the origins of golf. Recent evidence unearthed by Prof. Ling Hongling of Lanzhou University
suggests that a game similar to modern-day golf was played in China
since Southern Tang
Dynasty, 500 years before golf was first mentioned in Scotland.
Dōngxuān Records from the Song Dynasty
(960–1279) describes a game called chuíwán
(捶丸) and also includes drawings of the game. It was played with 10 clubs including a cuanbang, pubang, and shaobang, which are comparable to a driver, two-wood, and three-wood. Clubs were inlaid with jade
and gold
, suggesting golf was for the wealthy. Chinese archive includes references to a Southern Tang
official who asked his daughter to dig holes as a target. Ling suggested golf was exported to Europe and then Scotland by Mongolian
travellers in the late Middle Ages
.
The word golf, or in Scots
gouf, is usually thought to be a Scots alteration of Dutch
"colf" or "colve" meaning "stick, "club", "bat", itself related to the Proto-Germanic language
*kulth- as found in Old Norse
kolfr meaning "bell
clapper", and the German
Kolben meaning "mace or club". The Dutch term Kolven
refers to a related sport.
The first documented mention of golf in Scotland appears in a 1457 Act of the Scottish Parliament, an edict issued by king James II of Scotland
prohibiting the playing of the games of gowf and football as these were a distraction from archery
practice for military purposes. Bans were again imposed in Acts of 1471 and 1491, with golf being described as "an unprofitable sport". Mary, Queen of Scots, was accused by her political enemies of playing golf, after her second husband Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
, was murdered in 1567. George Buchanan
subsequently wrote that she had been playing "sports that were clearly unsuitable to women". Golf was banned again by parliament under king James VI of Scotland
, but golf clubs and balls were bought for him in 1502 when he was visiting Perth
, and on subsequent occasions when he was in St Andrews
and Edinburgh
.
The account book of lawyer Sir John Foulis
of Ravelston
records that he played golf at Musselburgh Links
on 2 March 1672, and this has been accepted as proving that The Old Links, Musselburgh
, is the oldest playing golf course in the world. There is also a story that Mary, Queen of Scots, played there in 1567.
, a medical student who played on the course at Bruntsfield Links
, near Edinburgh University
, and at Leith
Links. His notes include his views on an early handicap system. In his entry for 20 January 1687 he noted how "After dinner I went out to the Golve", and described his Golf stroke
:
The oldest surviving rules of golf were written in 1744 for the Company of Gentlemen Golfers, later renamed The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which played at Leith Links
. Their "Articles and Laws in Playing at Golf, now preserved in the National Library of Scotland
, became known as the Leith Rules and the document supports the club's claim to be the oldest golf club, though an almanac published about a century later is the first record of a rival claim that The Royal Burgess Golfing Society had been set up in 1735. The instructions in the Leith Rules formed the basis for all subsequent codes, for example requiring that "Your Tee must be upon the ground" and "You are not to change the Ball which you strike off the Tee".
The 1744 competition for the Gentlemen Golfers’ Competition for the Silver Club, a trophy in the form of a silver golf club provided as sponsorship by Edinburgh Town Council
, was won by surgeon John Rattray, who was required to attach to the trophy a silver ball engraved with his name, beginning a long tradition. Rattray joined the Jacobite Rising of 1745
and as a result was imprisoned in Inverness
, but was saved from being hanged by the pleading of his fellow golfer Duncan Forbes of Culloden
, Lord President of the Court of Session
. Rattray was released in 1747, and won the Silver Club three times in total.
and his courtiers played golf at Blackheath, London
, from which the Royal Blackheath Golf Club traces its origins. There is evidence that Scottish soldiers, expatriates and emigrants took the game to British colonies and elsewhere during the 18th and early 19th centuries. The Royal Calcutta Golf Club (1829) and the club at Pau (1856) in south western France
are notable reminders of these excursions and are the oldest golf clubs outside of the British Isles and the oldest in continental Europe respectively. However, it was not until the late 19th century that Golf became more widely popular outside of its Scottish home.
built Balmoral Castle
in the Scottish Highlands
.
The railways came to St Andrews in 1852. By the 1860s there were fast and regular
services from London to Edinburgh
. The royal enthusiasm for Scotland, the much improved transport links and the writings of Sir Walter Scott caused a boom for tourism in Scotland
and a wider interest in Scottish history and culture outside of the country. This period also coincided with the development of the Gutty; a golf ball made of Gutta Percha
which was cheaper to mass produce, more durable and more consistent in quality and performance than the feather-filled leather balls used previously. Golf began to spread across the rest of the British Isles. In 1864 the golf course
at the resort
of Westward Ho!
became the first new course in England since Blackheath. In 1880 England had 12 courses, rising to 50 in 1887 and over 1000 by 1914. The game in England had progressed sufficiently by 1890 to produce its first Open Champion
, John Ball
. The game also spread further across the empire
. By the 1880s golf clubs had been established in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa. Singapore followed in 1891. Courses were also established in several continental European resorts for the benefit of British visitors.
of New York City
in 1779 for golf clubs and balls, and the notice of the annual general meeting for a golf club in Savannah
published in the Georgia Gazette in 1796.. However, as in England, it was not until the late 19th century that golf started to become firmly established. Although there are several competing claims to being the oldest club, what is not contested is that in 1894 delegates from the Newport Country Club
, Saint Andrew's Golf Club, Yonkers, New York
, The Country Club
, Chicago Golf Club
, and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
met in New York City to form what was to become the United States Golf Association
(USGA). By 1910 there were 267 clubs. During the Roaring Twenties
the game expanded greatly in popularity and by 1932 there were over 1,100 golf clubs affiliated to the USGA. In 1922 Walter Hagen
became the first native born American to win the British Open Championship
, signalling the USA's dominance of the game that has yet to be seriously challenged. The expansion of the game was halted by the Great Depression
and World War II
, but continued in the post war years. By 1980 there were over 5,000 USGA affiliated clubs, and today the total exceeds 9,700.
of 1868 Japan made a concerted effort to modernise its economy and industry on western lines. Japanese came to Europe and America to establish trade links and study and acquire the latest developments in business, science and technology, and westerners came to Japan to help establish schools, factories, shipyards and banks.
In 1903 a group of British expatriates established the first golf club in Japan, at Kobe
. In 1913 the Tokyo Golf club at Komazawa was established for and by native Japanese who had encountered golf in the United States. In 1924 The Japan Golf Association was established by the seven clubs then in existence. During the 1920s and early 30's several new courses were built, however the great depression and increasing anti-Western sentiment
limited the growth of the game. By the time of the Japanese attacks against the USA
and British Empire
in 1941 there were 23 courses. During the subsequent war most of the courses were requisitioned for military use or returned to agricultural production.
In the postwar period, Japan's golf courses came under the control of the occupying forces. It was not until 1952 that courses started to be returned to Japanese control. By 1956 there were 72 courses and in 1957 Torakichi Nakamura
and Koichi Ono won the Canada Cup (now World Cup) in Japan, an event that is often cited as igniting the post-war golf boom. Between 1960 and 1964 the number of golf courses in Japan increased from 195 to 424. By the early 1970s there were over 1,000 courses. The 1987 Resort Law that reduced protection on agricultural land and forest preserves created a further boom in course construction and by 2009 there were over 2,400 courses. The popularity of golf in Japan also caused many golf resorts to be created across the Pacific Rim. The environmental effect of these recent golf booms is seen as a cause for concern by many.
occupy a narrow strip of land along the sea. As early as the 15th century, golfers at St Andrews
established a trench through the undulating terrain, playing to holes whose locations were dictated by topography. The course that emerged featured eleven holes, laid out end to end from the clubhouse to the far end of the property. One played the holes out, turned around, and played the holes in, for a total of 22 holes. In 1764, several of the holes were deemed too short, and were therefore combined. The number was thereby reduced from 11 to nine, so that a complete round of the links comprised 18 holes. Due to the status of St Andrews as the golfing capital, all other courses followed suit and the 18 hole course remains the standard to the present day.
(USGA) set standards for weight and size. These standards were later followed by a USGA regulation stating that the initial velocity of any golf ball cannot exceed 250 feet per second. Since this time, the golf ball has continued to develop and impact the way the game is played.
Another notable factor in the evolution of golf has been the development of golf clubs. The earliest golf clubs were made of wood that was readily available in the area. Over the years, Hickory
developed into the standard wood used for shafts and American Persimmon became the choice of wood for the club head due to its hardness and strength. As the golf ball developed and became more durable with the introduction of the “gutty” around 1850, the club head was also allowed to develop, and a variety of iron headed clubs entered the game. The introduction of steel shafts began in the late 1890s, but their adoption by the governing bodies of golf was slow. In the early 1970s, shaft technology shifted again with the use of graphite
for its lightweight and strength characteristics. The first metal “wood” was developed in the early 1980s, and metal eventually completely replaced wood due to its strength and versatility. The latest golf club technology employs the use of graphite shafts and lightweight titanium heads, which allows the club head to be made much larger than previously possible. The strength of these modern materials also allows the face of the club to be much thinner, which increases the spring-like effect of the club face on the ball, theoretically increasing the distance the ball travels. The USGA has recently limited the spring-like effect, also known as the Coefficient of Restitution
(COR) to .83 and the maximum club head size to 460cc in an attempt to maintain the challenge of the game.
word goulf (variously spelled) meaning "to strike or cuff". This word may, in turn, be derived the Dutch word kolf
, meaning "bat," or "club," and the Dutch sport of the same name. But there is an even earlier reference to the game of golf, and it is believed to have happened in 1452 when King James II
banned the game because it kept his subjects from their archery
practice.
There is a persistent urban legend
claiming that the term derives from an acronym "Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden". This is a false etymology
, as acronyms being used as words is a fairly modern phenomenon, making the expression a backronym
.
in the town of St Andrews
in Fife
, Scotland
, which is the home of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, and the United States Golf Association Museum and Arnold Mongool Center for Golf History, located alongside the United States Golf Association
headquarters in Far Hills, New Jersey
.
The World Golf Hall of Fame
in St. Augustine, Florida
also presents a history of the sport, as does the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame
in Oakville, Ontario
.
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
are unclear and much debated. However it is clearly one of a family of similar and possibly related club and ball games that were recorded across medieval Europe, and many of the unique elements of golf evolved in the port towns around the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
in eastern Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
from the medieval period onwards. Golf spread from Scotland into the rest of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
and then to the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
and the United States of America during the late 19th century.
Origins
Loenen aan de Vecht
Loenen is a town in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It was the main town in the former municipality of Loenen. Since 2011 it has made part of the new formed municipality of Stichtse Vecht. It lies about 10 km west of Hilversum....
, where the Dutch played a game with a stick and leather ball. The winner was whoever hit the ball with the least number of strokes into a target several hundred yards away. Some scholars argue that this game of putting a small ball in a hole in the ground using golf clubs was also played in 17th-century Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and that this predates the game in Scotland. There are also other reports of earlier accounts of a golf-like game from continental Europe.
In April 2005, new evidence re-invigorated the debate concerning the origins of golf. Recent evidence unearthed by Prof. Ling Hongling of Lanzhou University
Lanzhou University
Lanzhou University, founded in 1909, is a university located in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China. It provides programs for undergraduate, graduate students on four campuses--three in Lanzhou city centre and one in Yuzhong , which is about 30 miles away from the main campus. Total enrollment is...
suggests that a game similar to modern-day golf was played in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
since Southern Tang
Southern Tang
Southern Tang was one of the Ten Kingdoms in south-central China created following the Tang Dynasty from 937-975. Southern Tang replaced the Wu Kingdom when Li Bian deposed the emperor Yang Pu....
Dynasty, 500 years before golf was first mentioned in Scotland.
Dōngxuān Records from the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
(960–1279) describes a game called chuíwán
Chuiwan
Chuiwan was a game in ancient China. Its rules resemble modern golf.The book Dongxuan lu , written by Wei Tai of the Song Dynasty, describes how a southern Tang official teaches his daughter how to dig goals in the ground and drive a ball into them...
(捶丸) and also includes drawings of the game. It was played with 10 clubs including a cuanbang, pubang, and shaobang, which are comparable to a driver, two-wood, and three-wood. Clubs were inlaid with jade
Jade
Jade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...
and gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, suggesting golf was for the wealthy. Chinese archive includes references to a Southern Tang
Southern Tang
Southern Tang was one of the Ten Kingdoms in south-central China created following the Tang Dynasty from 937-975. Southern Tang replaced the Wu Kingdom when Li Bian deposed the emperor Yang Pu....
official who asked his daughter to dig holes as a target. Ling suggested golf was exported to Europe and then Scotland by Mongolian
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
travellers in the late Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
.
Early golf in Scotland
The modern game of golf is generally considered to be a Scottish invention. A spokesman for the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, one of the oldest Scottish golf organisations, said "Stick and ball games have been around for many centuries, but golf as we know it today, played over 18 holes, clearly originated in Scotland."The word golf, or in Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
gouf, is usually thought to be a Scots alteration of Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
"colf" or "colve" meaning "stick, "club", "bat", itself related to the Proto-Germanic language
Proto-Germanic language
Proto-Germanic , or Common Germanic, as it is sometimes known, is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all the Germanic languages, such as modern English, Frisian, Dutch, Afrikaans, German, Luxembourgish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, and Swedish.The Proto-Germanic language is...
*kulth- as found in Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
kolfr meaning "bell
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
clapper", and the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Kolben meaning "mace or club". The Dutch term Kolven
Kolven
Kolven is a game originated in the Netherlands, played by several individuals with heavy curved bats and a ball between two poles on an indoor kolf court...
refers to a related sport.
The first documented mention of golf in Scotland appears in a 1457 Act of the Scottish Parliament, an edict issued by king James II of Scotland
James II of Scotland
James II reigned as King of Scots from 1437 to his death.He was the son of James I, King of Scots, and Joan Beaufort...
prohibiting the playing of the games of gowf and football as these were a distraction from archery
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
practice for military purposes. Bans were again imposed in Acts of 1471 and 1491, with golf being described as "an unprofitable sport". Mary, Queen of Scots, was accused by her political enemies of playing golf, after her second husband Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
Henry Stewart or Stuart, 1st Duke of Albany , styled Lord Darnley before 1565, was king consort of Scotland and murdered at Kirk o'Field...
, was murdered in 1567. George Buchanan
George Buchanan
George Buchanan may refer to:*George Buchanan , Scottish humanist*Sir George Buchanan , Scottish soldier during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms*Sir George Buchanan , Chief Medical Officer...
subsequently wrote that she had been playing "sports that were clearly unsuitable to women". Golf was banned again by parliament under king James VI of Scotland
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
, but golf clubs and balls were bought for him in 1502 when he was visiting Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
, and on subsequent occasions when he was in St Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
and Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.
The account book of lawyer Sir John Foulis
Foulis Baronets
There have been three Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Foulis, one in the Baronetage of England and two in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia....
of Ravelston
Ravelston
Ravelston is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, to the south of Queensferry Road .The area is primarily made up of detached and semi-detached housing, as well as modern apartments and many bungalows...
records that he played golf at Musselburgh Links
Musselburgh Links
Musselburgh Links in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, is generally recognised as the oldest golf course in the world, and the oldest on which play has been continuous...
on 2 March 1672, and this has been accepted as proving that The Old Links, Musselburgh
Musselburgh
Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, six miles east of Edinburgh city centre.-History:...
, is the oldest playing golf course in the world. There is also a story that Mary, Queen of Scots, played there in 1567.
Instructions, golf club rules and competitions
The earliest known instructions for playing golf have been found in the diary of Thomas KincaidThomas Kincaid
Thomas Kincaid , also described as Thomas Kincaid the Younger, was a keen Edinburgh medical student, golfer and archer, whose student diary includes the earliest known instructions for playing golf.-Early life and diary:...
, a medical student who played on the course at Bruntsfield Links
Bruntsfield Links
Bruntsfield Links is of park in Bruntsfield, Edinburgh, immediately to the south-west of The Meadows, which it adjoins.Unlike The Meadows, which is a former loch, Bruntsfield Links was always dry...
, near Edinburgh University
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, and at Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
Links. His notes include his views on an early handicap system. In his entry for 20 January 1687 he noted how "After dinner I went out to the Golve", and described his Golf stroke
Golf stroke mechanics
Golf stroke mechanics is the means by which golfers make decisions and execute them in the sport of golf...
:
The oldest surviving rules of golf were written in 1744 for the Company of Gentlemen Golfers, later renamed The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which played at Leith Links
Leith Links
Leith Links is the principal open space within Leith, the harbour district of Edinburgh, Scotland. This public park extends to . In its current form it is largely flat and bordered by mature trees. Historically it was an undulating area of former sand-dunes utilised as a golf links.-Current...
. Their "Articles and Laws in Playing at Golf, now preserved in the National Library of Scotland
National Library of Scotland
The National Library of Scotland is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. It is based in a collection of buildings in Edinburgh city centre. The headquarters is on George IV Bridge, between the Old Town and the university quarter...
, became known as the Leith Rules and the document supports the club's claim to be the oldest golf club, though an almanac published about a century later is the first record of a rival claim that The Royal Burgess Golfing Society had been set up in 1735. The instructions in the Leith Rules formed the basis for all subsequent codes, for example requiring that "Your Tee must be upon the ground" and "You are not to change the Ball which you strike off the Tee".
The 1744 competition for the Gentlemen Golfers’ Competition for the Silver Club, a trophy in the form of a silver golf club provided as sponsorship by Edinburgh Town Council
Politics of Edinburgh
The politics of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, are evident in the deliberations and decisions of the council of Edinburgh, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament, the House of Commons and the European Parliament....
, was won by surgeon John Rattray, who was required to attach to the trophy a silver ball engraved with his name, beginning a long tradition. Rattray joined the Jacobite Rising of 1745
Jacobite Rising of 1745
The Jacobite rising of 1745, often referred to as "The 'Forty-Five," was the attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for the exiled House of Stuart. The rising occurred during the War of the Austrian Succession when most of the British Army was on the European continent...
and as a result was imprisoned in Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
, but was saved from being hanged by the pleading of his fellow golfer Duncan Forbes of Culloden
Duncan Forbes of Culloden
Duncan Forbes was a Scottish politician, and supporter of the House of Hanover.-Life:Born and educated in Inverness. His father owned the estate of Culloden and was MP for Nairnshire....
, Lord President of the Court of Session
Court of Session
The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland, and constitutes part of the College of Justice. It sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh and is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal....
. Rattray was released in 1747, and won the Silver Club three times in total.
Early excursions
In 1603 James VI of Scotland succeeded to the throne of England. His son Henry Frederick, Prince of WalesHenry Frederick, Prince of Wales
Henry Frederick Stuart, Prince of Wales was the elder son of King James I & VI and Anne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Frederick II of Denmark. Prince Henry was widely seen as a bright and promising heir to his father's throne...
and his courtiers played golf at Blackheath, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, from which the Royal Blackheath Golf Club traces its origins. There is evidence that Scottish soldiers, expatriates and emigrants took the game to British colonies and elsewhere during the 18th and early 19th centuries. The Royal Calcutta Golf Club (1829) and the club at Pau (1856) in south western France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
are notable reminders of these excursions and are the oldest golf clubs outside of the British Isles and the oldest in continental Europe respectively. However, it was not until the late 19th century that Golf became more widely popular outside of its Scottish home.
The late 19th-century boom
In the 1850s Queen Victoria and Prince AlbertPrince Albert
Prince Albert was the husband and consort of Queen Victoria.Prince Albert may also refer to:-Royalty:*Prince Albert Edward or Edward VII of the United Kingdom , son of Albert and Victoria...
built Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle is a large estate house in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and east of Braemar. Balmoral has been one of the residences of the British Royal Family since 1852, when it was purchased by Queen Victoria and her...
in the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
.
The railways came to St Andrews in 1852. By the 1860s there were fast and regular
Flying Scotsman (train)
The Flying Scotsman is an express passenger train service that has been running between London and Edinburgh—the capitals of England and Scotland respectively—since 1862...
services from London to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. The royal enthusiasm for Scotland, the much improved transport links and the writings of Sir Walter Scott caused a boom for tourism in Scotland
Tourism in Scotland
Scotland is a well-developed tourist destination, with tourism generally being responsible for sustaining 200,000 jobs mainly in the service sector, with tourist spending averaging at £4bn per year. Tourists from the United Kingdom make up the bulk of visitors to Scotland...
and a wider interest in Scottish history and culture outside of the country. This period also coincided with the development of the Gutty; a golf ball made of Gutta Percha
Gutta-percha
Gutta-percha is a genus of tropical trees native to Southeast Asia and northern Australasia, from Taiwan south to the Malay Peninsula and east to the Solomon Islands. The same term is used to refer to an inelastic natural latex produced from the sap of these trees, particularly from the species...
which was cheaper to mass produce, more durable and more consistent in quality and performance than the feather-filled leather balls used previously. Golf began to spread across the rest of the British Isles. In 1864 the golf course
Royal North Devon Golf Club
Royal North Devon Golf Club was founded in 1864, and is the oldest golf course in England. The course was designed by Old Tom Morris. RND is located on Northam Burrows between Northam and Westward Ho! Traditionally the course has been referred to as Westward Ho! - golf writer Bernard Darwin,...
at the resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
of Westward Ho!
Westward Ho!
Westward Ho! is a seaside village near Bideford in Devon, England. The A39 road provides access from the towns of Barnstaple, Bideford and Bude...
became the first new course in England since Blackheath. In 1880 England had 12 courses, rising to 50 in 1887 and over 1000 by 1914. The game in England had progressed sufficiently by 1890 to produce its first Open Champion
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
, John Ball
John Ball (golfer)
John Ball, Jr. was a prominent English amateur golfer of the late 19th and early 20th century.Ball was born in Hoylake, Merseyside. His father was the prosperous owner of the Royal Hotel, located near the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, in Hoylake...
. The game also spread further across the empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. By the 1880s golf clubs had been established in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa. Singapore followed in 1891. Courses were also established in several continental European resorts for the benefit of British visitors.
United States of America
Evidence of early golf in the United States includes an advertisement published in the Royal GazetteJames Rivington
James Rivington was an English-born American journalist who published one of the most infamous Loyalist newspapers in the American colonies, Rivington's Gazette.-Early life:...
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1779 for golf clubs and balls, and the notice of the annual general meeting for a golf club in Savannah
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
published in the Georgia Gazette in 1796.. However, as in England, it was not until the late 19th century that golf started to become firmly established. Although there are several competing claims to being the oldest club, what is not contested is that in 1894 delegates from the Newport Country Club
Newport Country Club
Newport Country Club, founded in 1893, is a historic private golf club in Newport, Rhode Island in the United States that hosted both the first U.S. Amateur Championship and the first U.S...
, Saint Andrew's Golf Club, Yonkers, New York
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...
, The Country Club
The Country Club
The Country Club, located in Brookline, Massachusetts, is one of the oldest country club in the United States. It holds an important place in golf history, as it is one of the five charter clubs that founded the United States Golf Association, and has hosted numerous USGA tournaments including the...
, Chicago Golf Club
Chicago Golf Club
Chicago Golf Club is a private golf club in Wheaton, Illinois in the United States. It is the oldest 18-hole course in North America and was one of the five clubs which founded the United States Golf Association in 1894. Its founder, Charles B. Macdonald, won the first official U.S...
, and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is a links-style golf club located in the hamlet of Shinnecock Hills in the town of Southampton on Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It has hosted the U.S. Open four times in three different centuries and will host the 2018 U.S. Open...
met in New York City to form what was to become the United States Golf Association
United States Golf Association
The United States Golf Association is the United States' national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the Rules of Golf. The USGA also provides a national handicap system...
(USGA). By 1910 there were 267 clubs. During the Roaring Twenties
Roaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s, principally in North America, but also in London, Berlin and Paris for a period of sustained economic prosperity. The phrase was meant to emphasize the period's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism...
the game expanded greatly in popularity and by 1932 there were over 1,100 golf clubs affiliated to the USGA. In 1922 Walter Hagen
Walter Hagen
Walter Charles Hagen was a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of eleven professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods . He won the U.S. Open twice, and in 1922 he became the first native-born American to win the British Open, which he went on...
became the first native born American to win the British Open Championship
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
, signalling the USA's dominance of the game that has yet to be seriously challenged. The expansion of the game was halted by the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but continued in the post war years. By 1980 there were over 5,000 USGA affiliated clubs, and today the total exceeds 9,700.
Japan
After the Meiji restorationMeiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
of 1868 Japan made a concerted effort to modernise its economy and industry on western lines. Japanese came to Europe and America to establish trade links and study and acquire the latest developments in business, science and technology, and westerners came to Japan to help establish schools, factories, shipyards and banks.
In 1903 a group of British expatriates established the first golf club in Japan, at Kobe
Kobe Golf Club
The is Japan's first golf course, built on Mount Rokko in 1903 by English expatriate Arthur Hasketh Groom. The club began as a nine-hole course on May 24, 1903, but quickly expanded to eighteen the following year...
. In 1913 the Tokyo Golf club at Komazawa was established for and by native Japanese who had encountered golf in the United States. In 1924 The Japan Golf Association was established by the seven clubs then in existence. During the 1920s and early 30's several new courses were built, however the great depression and increasing anti-Western sentiment
Anti-Western sentiment
Anti-Western sentiment refers to broad opposition or hostility to the people, policies, or governments in the western world. In many cases the United States, Israël and the United Kingdom are the subject of discussion or hostility...
limited the growth of the game. By the time of the Japanese attacks against the USA
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
and British Empire
Japanese Invasion of Malaya
The Japanese Invasion of Malaya, or Battle of Kota Bharu, began just after midnight on 8 December 1941 before the attack on Pearl Harbor...
in 1941 there were 23 courses. During the subsequent war most of the courses were requisitioned for military use or returned to agricultural production.
In the postwar period, Japan's golf courses came under the control of the occupying forces. It was not until 1952 that courses started to be returned to Japanese control. By 1956 there were 72 courses and in 1957 Torakichi Nakamura
Torakichi Nakamura
was a Japanese golfer whose victory, with partner Koichi Ono, at the 1957 Canada Cup outside Tokyo helped to spur a boom in golf in Japan.Nakamura, also known as "Pete", "Tora-san," and "the Putting God", was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture and became a caddy at the age of 14. He became a...
and Koichi Ono won the Canada Cup (now World Cup) in Japan, an event that is often cited as igniting the post-war golf boom. Between 1960 and 1964 the number of golf courses in Japan increased from 195 to 424. By the early 1970s there were over 1,000 courses. The 1987 Resort Law that reduced protection on agricultural land and forest preserves created a further boom in course construction and by 2009 there were over 2,400 courses. The popularity of golf in Japan also caused many golf resorts to be created across the Pacific Rim. The environmental effect of these recent golf booms is seen as a cause for concern by many.
Golf course evolution
Golf courses have not always had eighteen holes. The St Andrews LinksSt Andrews Links
St Andrews Links in the town of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, is regarded as the "home of golf". It is one of the oldest courses in the world, where the game has been played since the 15th century...
occupy a narrow strip of land along the sea. As early as the 15th century, golfers at St Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
established a trench through the undulating terrain, playing to holes whose locations were dictated by topography. The course that emerged featured eleven holes, laid out end to end from the clubhouse to the far end of the property. One played the holes out, turned around, and played the holes in, for a total of 22 holes. In 1764, several of the holes were deemed too short, and were therefore combined. The number was thereby reduced from 11 to nine, so that a complete round of the links comprised 18 holes. Due to the status of St Andrews as the golfing capital, all other courses followed suit and the 18 hole course remains the standard to the present day.
Equipment development
The evolution of golf can be explained by the development of the equipment used to play the game. Some of the most notable advancements in the game of golf have come from the development of the golf ball. The golf ball took on many different forms before the 1930s when the United States Golf AssociationUnited States Golf Association
The United States Golf Association is the United States' national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the Rules of Golf. The USGA also provides a national handicap system...
(USGA) set standards for weight and size. These standards were later followed by a USGA regulation stating that the initial velocity of any golf ball cannot exceed 250 feet per second. Since this time, the golf ball has continued to develop and impact the way the game is played.
Another notable factor in the evolution of golf has been the development of golf clubs. The earliest golf clubs were made of wood that was readily available in the area. Over the years, Hickory
Hickory
Trees in the genus Carya are commonly known as hickory, derived from the Powhatan language of Virginia. The genus includes 17–19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and big nuts...
developed into the standard wood used for shafts and American Persimmon became the choice of wood for the club head due to its hardness and strength. As the golf ball developed and became more durable with the introduction of the “gutty” around 1850, the club head was also allowed to develop, and a variety of iron headed clubs entered the game. The introduction of steel shafts began in the late 1890s, but their adoption by the governing bodies of golf was slow. In the early 1970s, shaft technology shifted again with the use of graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
for its lightweight and strength characteristics. The first metal “wood” was developed in the early 1980s, and metal eventually completely replaced wood due to its strength and versatility. The latest golf club technology employs the use of graphite shafts and lightweight titanium heads, which allows the club head to be made much larger than previously possible. The strength of these modern materials also allows the face of the club to be much thinner, which increases the spring-like effect of the club face on the ball, theoretically increasing the distance the ball travels. The USGA has recently limited the spring-like effect, also known as the Coefficient of Restitution
Coefficient of restitution
The coefficient of restitution of two colliding objects is a fractional value representing the ratio of speeds after and before an impact, taken along the line of the impact...
(COR) to .83 and the maximum club head size to 460cc in an attempt to maintain the challenge of the game.
Etymology
The word golf was first mentioned in writing in 1457 on a Scottish statute on forbidden games as gouf, possibly derived from the ScotsScots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
word goulf (variously spelled) meaning "to strike or cuff". This word may, in turn, be derived the Dutch word kolf
Kolven
Kolven is a game originated in the Netherlands, played by several individuals with heavy curved bats and a ball between two poles on an indoor kolf court...
, meaning "bat," or "club," and the Dutch sport of the same name. But there is an even earlier reference to the game of golf, and it is believed to have happened in 1452 when King James II
James II of Scotland
James II reigned as King of Scots from 1437 to his death.He was the son of James I, King of Scots, and Joan Beaufort...
banned the game because it kept his subjects from their archery
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
practice.
There is a persistent urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
claiming that the term derives from an acronym "Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden". This is a false etymology
False etymology
Folk etymology is change in a word or phrase over time resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more familiar one. Unanalyzable borrowings from foreign languages, like asparagus, or old compounds such as samblind which have lost their iconic motivation are...
, as acronyms being used as words is a fairly modern phenomenon, making the expression a backronym
Backronym
A backronym or bacronym is a phrase constructed purposely, such that an acronym can be formed to a specific desired word. Backronyms may be invented with serious or humorous intent, or may be a type of false or folk etymology....
.
Museums
The history of golf is preserved and represented at several golf museums around the world, notably the British Golf MuseumBritish Golf Museum
The British Golf Museum is located opposite the Clubhouse at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St Andrews, Scotland.The museum, which opened in 1990, documents the history of golf from Medieval times to the present, including the men's and women's games, British and international, both...
in the town of St Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
in Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, which is the home of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, and the United States Golf Association Museum and Arnold Mongool Center for Golf History, located alongside the United States Golf Association
United States Golf Association
The United States Golf Association is the United States' national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the Rules of Golf. The USGA also provides a national handicap system...
headquarters in Far Hills, New Jersey
Far Hills, New Jersey
Far Hills is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 919.Far Hills was incorporated as a borough based on an Act of the New Jersey Legislature passed on April 7, 1921, from portions of Bernards Township, subject to the results...
.
The World Golf Hall of Fame
World Golf Hall of Fame
The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site serves both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 golf organizations from all over the world.The Hall of...
in St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
also presents a history of the sport, as does the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame
Canadian Golf Hall of Fame
The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame covering the history of the game of golf in Canada, and celebrating the careers and accomplishments of the most significant contributors to the game in that country...
in Oakville, Ontario
Oakville, Ontario
Oakville is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area. As of the 2006 census the population was 165,613.-History:In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road...
.
See also
- Timeline of golf history (1353-1850)Timeline of golf history (1353-1850)The following is a partial timeline of the history of golf:*1421 - A Scottish regiment aiding the French against the English at the Siege of Bauge is introduced to the game of chole...
- Timeline of golf history (1851-1945)Timeline of golf history (1851-1945)-1851–1860:1851The Prestwick Golf Club is founded.1856The Royal Curragh Golf Club is founded at Kildare, the first golf club in Ireland. Pau Golf Club is founded, the first on the Continent....
- Timeline of golf history (1945-1999)Timeline of golf history (1945-1999)-1945–1949:1945Byron Nelson wins 18 tournaments in a calendar year to set an all-time PGA Tour record-including a record 11 in a row and a record 19 consecutive rounds under 70...
- Timeline of golf (2000-present)Timeline of golf (2000-present)-Men's Golf:Tiger Woods recorded arguably the most dominant season in history by any player. He won 11 of the 25 events he entered worldwide, including three major championships, breaking all-time scoring records at each. His season-long scoring average was 68.11, breaking an all-time record most...
- British Golf MuseumBritish Golf MuseumThe British Golf Museum is located opposite the Clubhouse at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St Andrews, Scotland.The museum, which opened in 1990, documents the history of golf from Medieval times to the present, including the men's and women's games, British and international, both...